Best Cordless Drills Under $150 (2026)

The CMCD702D1 is a conventional brushed drill/driver built around a 1/2 inch keyless chuck, the size that grips a 3/8 inch shank spade bit or a hole saw arbor without slipping. Craftsman rates it at up to 300 unit watts out, a power figure that measures what the motor delivers at the chuck rather than a peak torque that nobody can reproduce, so it is the one headline number in this roundup you can compare against other mainstream brands.

Its tradeoff is the brush system. Carbon brushes wear, run warmer under load and waste a share of battery energy as heat, so run time per charge is shorter than a brushless unit with the same pack. Against the COMOWARE in this roundup, which has the same 3/8 inch class of chuck and a similar pack, the Craftsman gives you the larger chuck and a steadier gearbox for lag screws, but it gives up the case and the bit assortment.

The real ownership value is the platform. A V20 body means you can buy bare tools later, such as an impact driver or a trim saw, and reuse the 2 Ah pack and the charger. Brushes are the part to watch in year three: if the tool smells hot or sparks heavily at the vents, the brushes are worn and the drill is ready for the shelf.

COMOWARE targets the shopper who owns nothing yet and wants a drill, a charger, a case and a bit assortment in one carton. The stated 266 inch-pounds of torque is more than adequate for assembling furniture, driving 2.5 inch deck screws into pine and boring pilot holes, and it comes with a numbered clutch ring that stops the chuck from sinking a screw head into drywall.

The tradeoffs are the 3/8 inch chuck, which restricts you to bits with shanks up to that diameter, and the 1500 mAh pack. A 1.5 Ah pack holds roughly three quarters of the energy of the 2 Ah Craftsman pack, so you will see the speed sag earlier when driving long screws. Compared with the FADAKWALT, which stretches the clutch to 21+1 steps, the COMOWARE has fewer torque settings but a more complete kit.

Ownership is simple. There is no brand ecosystem to buy into, so treat it as a self-contained household drill rather than the start of a collection. Keep the pack off the charger after the light turns green, store it indoors, and replace the pack, not the drill, when capacity fades after a couple of seasons.

The FADAKWALT is the tinkerer's budget drill. It offers 21 clutch positions plus a drill mode, which is finer control than most drills at this price and lets you step from a small cabinet hinge screw to a medium wood screw without stripping the head. The 30 newton-meter figure is the same class of claim as COMOWARE's 266 inch-pounds, since 30 N.m converts to roughly 265 in-lbs, so the two are effectively tied on stated power.

Where it differs is the extras. A magnetic flex shaft and an extension bar let the chuck reach into tight angles, which is useful for electronics repair and furniture assembly in cramped corners. The cost is that the kit leans on accessories rather than on a bigger motor, so the gearbox and chuck feel the same as the COMOWARE and the Craftsman remains the more solid tool for repeated lag work.

Because this is a lesser known label, parts support is the question. Expect to replace the whole pack rather than find individual cells, keep the charger and drill together, and plan to buy a spare bit set of better steel, since bundled bits in kits like this are soft and dull quickly in hardwood.

A two-speed gearbox is the feature that most separates a real drill from a toy at this price, and the DEKOPRO 20V has one: 0 to 350 rpm in low gear for driving screws and 0 to 1350 rpm in high gear for drilling. Low gear multiplies torque at the cost of speed, which is why a 3/8 inch spade bit stalls in high gear less often than in a single-speed drill. The 18+1 clutch is slightly coarser than the FADAKWALT's 21+1, but it is still plenty for general carpentry.

Its limits mirror the other 20V budget kits. A 1.5 Ah pack caps the work you can do per charge, and the plastic gearbox housing will not enjoy being leaned on for hours with a large auger bit. Compared with the 12V DEKOPRO in this list, which weighs far less, this one has the torque to drive 3 inch screws into framing lumber, and the 12V does not.

Maintenance is minimal: wipe dust from the vents, keep the chuck jaws clear of resin, and never leave the pack in a hot truck. Treat it as a good household drill and replace it rather than repair it after roughly five years of casual use.

At 1.65 pounds, this is the drill for the person who dreads lifting a full-size tool for a few screws. A 12 volt platform means a smaller pack, a smaller motor and a body you can run with one hand, which suits cabinet pulls, curtain rods and electronics enclosures. The maximum no-load speed of 800 r/min is low, so drilling is slower than with the 20V picks, but low speed also keeps small bits from wandering.

The tradeoff is brute force. This is not the drill to ask for a 1 inch spade bit through a stud, and compared with the DEKOPRO 20V, which has a high range reaching 1350 rpm, the 12V will stall more often and heat up faster. Think of it as the second drill in a household, kept in the junk drawer for quick jobs.

Upkeep is minimal, but small packs have fewer cells, so keep the pack warm in winter to avoid sudden voltage drop. Expect a few hundred charge cycles from the lithium cells, and choose it only if you prefer a light tool over the strongest one available in this price band.